Category Archives: New York

“The New York City Police Foundation received a $1 million donation from the government of the United Arab Emirates, according to 2012 tax records, the same amount the foundation transferred to the NYPD Intelligence Division’s International Liaison Program that year, according to documents obtained by The Intercept. A 2012 Schedule A document filed by the New York City Police Foundation showed a list of its largest donors, which included several major financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and Barclays Capital — but also a line item for the “Embassy of the United Arab Emirates.”………. Conspicuously, while the financial institutions are listed as donors on the Police Foundation website, the UAE is absent…………..’

Interesting: clearly now the UAE diplomats “can breathe” at will in the Big Apple. This deserves a resounding WTF………..

“The FBI on Wednesday arrested three men from Brooklyn who they allege planned to launch terrorist attacks in the United States if they were not able to join ISIS in Syria. Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 24, an Uzbekistan citizen; Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, a Kazakhstan citizen; and Abror Habibov, 30, an Uzbekistan citizen were all arrested and charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. According to law enforcement officials, the men also planned to return to New York to commit an act of domestic terrorism if they failed in their effort to join ISIS. One of the suspect’s mothers supposedly took his passport because she was afraid he may join ISIS………….”

That is apparently the secret of the recent rapid quantitative spread of ISIS. An unlimited supply of marginal foot soldiers, lost expendable imbeciles who actually believe they have secrecy, privacy, and anonymity on the Internet and off the Internet, including at the mosque. The ignorance and/or blindness are breathtaking. Don’t they know? Can’t they read or watch the news?…

There is nothing in Islam, in either the Quran or Hadith, that requires the faithful to be stupid. Maybe the Salafi Jihadis have their own interpretation of the faith. Apparently stupidity and treachery are required parts of their core beliefs, otherwise who would join?Cheers

Agence France-Presse and other agencies reported this morning that Hilton Hotels is selling sells the Waldorf Astoria to a Chinese firm for $1.95 bn. It took a (proverbial? cliche?) few seconds to register, but the Waldorf? I mean you can’t get any more historical American than John Jacob Astor and the mountain men and the Fur Trade. Who would have thunk only a few years ago that the venerable (that is what they call them now) Manhattan institution will be sold to a bunch of Chinese oligarchs and People’s Liberation Army functionaries.

Then only a couple of years ago reports came out of some Saudi prince buying the Le Crillon in Paris. I had stayed there once for three days, and of course I did not pay for it: it was a paid official business trip, otherwise I could not have afforded it. Then the Qataris have been buying other Paris properties even before they were admitted into the Francophone countries (about two or three Qataris probably speak French but money makes up for any deficiency).

Not to be outdone, the Emirati (UAE) potentates have been buying British sports clubs and any horses and mules and stables that are for sale across England. Come to think of it, Abu Dhabi has been buying almost anything else that is English and for sale (be it nailed or not). Even the upstart robber shaikhs of Bahrain have been known to use their ill-gotten loot to dabble in British properties.

All this is against the trend in the past couple of decades. Even the Mafia’s hold on Las Vegas gambling has faded in recent years, or so the reports say. At least since Francis Ford Coppola wisely gave up on a fourth sequel of the Corleone saga (the third one stank to Sicily and back).

Speaking of oligarchies and potentates and globalization. How come the Russians and their fabled petroleum and gas oligarchs have not been snapping up Western hotels and sports clubs and horses and department stores? Could it be that they knew ‘the sanctions’ were coming?